1 lb of Labneh 6 cups of water 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 heaping teaspoon of dried mint powder 1/2 teaspoon of dried cilantro leaves 1 lemon (juiced) 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste) Note: If using Greek yogurt instead of Labneh, then use 5 cups of yogurt and 1 cup of water

Meat Stuffing Preparation Method (20 mins)

Sautee the onions with a bit of olive oil until they start turning pinkish (10 mins)

Add the ground beef, 7-spices, salt, mix well and then sautee until the beef is cooked (10 minutes)

Add the pine nuts in the last 5 minutes. The meat stuffing is now ready.

Dough Preparation Method (20 mins)

Mix the dough ingredients in a food processor (or knead with hands) and let rest for a few minutes.

When ready, place dough on kitchen counter that’s been dusted
with flour, and flatten into a large disk the thickness of 2 dimes
(1/8th of an inch).

Using a bottle lid (or small cookie cutter), cut the dough into disks the size of a quarter (3/4th of an inch in diameter)

Place cut dough on a plate that’s been dusted with flour

Place 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon of meat stuffing in the center of each
dough piece, fold edges in and close them on the meat, then pull edges
around and fold them on one another, then flatten the sides to make it
all look like a “hat” or ravioli.

Line up all the dumplings on a flour dusted plate

If you’re making extra dumplings for future use, lay dumplings
on a flour dusted tray in the freezer for a couple of hours, and then
pack them in small ziplog bags (about 7 – 8 oz each) and store back in
freezer for a few months. Each bag (or 7 – 8 oz) of ready dumplings can
make 4 servings.

Shish Barak Cooking Method 1, With Labneh: (40 minutes)

Pour 6 cups of water and 1 lb of labneh in a pot, mix well until
all Labneh is dissolved, then place on stove over medium-low heat and
keep on stirring gently until it reaches a boil, at which time you turn
the heat to low.

Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic

Add the dried mint powder and cilantro leaves

Add 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt (to taste)

Add juice from 1 freshly squeezed lemon. If you’re using goat yogurt you can skip this step.

Add the Shish Barak dumplings, bring the stew to a boil again,
and then stir gently on low heat for 15-20 minutes until the shish barak
dumplings are cooked.

Serve hot as a soup

Cooking Method 2, With Greek Yogurt: (50 minutes)

Pour 5 cups of plain yogurt (Greek yogurt) and 1 cup of water in
a pot and stir continuously on low heat until it reaches a boil. It is
very important that heat is very low and stirring is constant otherwise
the yogurt may break apart and can’t be salvaged